It's great that it uploads and resets automatically, as that is usually what stops me using a regular pedometer (forget to reset it all the time, so the numbers don't mean anything). I also love that as well as steps, it records climbs, vigorous activity, and sleep. I clip mine onto my bra and don't even notice it's there. It also means I can still use it even if I'm wearing a dress (unlike a regular pedometer which needs a waistband).
I'll try to help where I can!
My first runDisney race (and first distance/timed race ever) was Tink this year and I was put in the second to last corral so there's hopeWith your pace I'm sure even if you are in the last you should be fine.
I can't help with question 2 as I didn't wait in any character lines, sorry!
Not directly in the finishers area. I think they were referring to wandering the parks and finding characters there (Disneyland has the wonderful advantage that their characters walk around the park willy nilly, in addition to those noted in the specific character locations on the maps, for example I saw Captain Hook wandering around the esplanade around 4 p.m. and Alice and the Mad Hatter & Peter and Wendy often frequent Fantasyland)
RunDisney will stop allowing others to pick up packets after this year's Avenger's so you should be fine as long as you/she fills out the Packet Pick Up Authorization form found on rundisney.com
Info on the change: http://www.rundisney.com/blog/articles/packet-pick-up-update-03-24-14/
They supply you with a mini Ziploc baggy with four safety pins when you get your bib which you secure to the front of your shirt. (after filling out your emergency contact info on the back of your bib)
There is sometimes a pile-up at the beginning of the water station tables but if you continue to run just past those there will be volunteers ready holding cups in both hands for you to easily receive without hassle.
It's been a while since my first Disney race (2012), but I didn't have a time to submit, and was definitely not in the last corral. If you want to start towards the front of the corral, arriving an hour early should be plenty. Even if you are later than that, though, you can usually work your way through the crowd towards the front of the corral, especially if you are by yourself.
No, Disney does not post a list of characters on the course ahead of time. Sometimes people post afterwards what characters they saw, and you can look for posts from the previous year's race to get an idea of who might be out there, but I suspect this year's 10K will have different characters than last year's. Last year there were a lot of Wonderland characters out, since that was the theme. This year, you can probably bet on Lilo, Stitch, and a bunch of characters in Hawaiian shirts. As for wait times, I've never started in the back corral, but typically waits are under 15 minutes. The longest I've ever waited was during this year's WDW Marathon Weekend 5K, and that was 30 minutes for Dopey.
What most people mean when that say that is they wear their medal into the park after the race to the regular photo ops and get photos then. At WDW for marathon weekend, they had characters in the finish area for photos (with ginormous lines), but I've never seen that at Disneyland.
I'll group these together since a previous poster answered these exactly how I would.
Good luck, and have fun at your first race!
Hoping it'll be OK. Hilton was on the short list, too.
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